OK, we get it, you’re busy running your business and the last thing on your mind right now is whether your website looks pretty enough.
But how about if we told you that your poor website design could be turning potential customers off and handing them on a plate to your competitors instead?
A lot of small businesses make do with simply getting their business online as quickly and as cheaply as possible, but a poorly designed website can do more damage than good.
Why your business website design matters:
We all know how important first impressions are, and your website is the first impression that many people will get of your business if they find you via an online search.
A poorly designed website could be one that doesn’t look the part, is frustrating or difficult to use or doesn’t do the job that you want it to.
Here are a few assumptions that website visitors make about businesses with poorly designed websites:
• You’re a small business or a new business that can’t afford a good website.
• You’re not a legitimate or credible business.
• You don’t know what you’re doing.
• The website may be cheap and so not safe/secure.
If this is the kind of first impression that your website is giving visitors, then they’re probably clicking the back button on their browsers sharpish and checking out your competitors instead.
Think of your website as your digital ‘packaging’
Chances are you wouldn’t make do with second-rate company branding or product packaging, so you shouldn’t make do with an amateur website either.
People love to buy into a company’s image, values and branding as well as their products and services.
Your business website design is like your online ‘packaging’, so if it doesn’t look professional or eye-catching then people won’t buy into it.
5 Common business website design pitfalls it’s essential to avoid
If you don’t think your website is up to scratch but aren’t sure where to start when it comes to fixing it, we recommend checking that it’s not falling victim to any of these 5 common but killer website pitfalls.
1. It’s frustrating to use on a phone
More people now search for businesses online using mobile phones than they do desktop computers, so if your website doesn’t adapt to smaller screens you’re instantly missing out on a lot of business.
Your website needs a responsive design to ensure that it looks great and functions well on smaller screens like mobile phones and tablets. Websites without responsive designs look unprofessional and are frustrating if not downright impossible to use on smaller devices.
You can check if your website is responsive using Google’s Mobile-Friendly test tool here.
2. Your contact details aren’t obvious
You want potential customers to get in touch, right? Then make it super easy for them to do so! It is best practice to display your business contact number in the top right-hand corner of your homepage and then in the same position throughout the website where possible to save customers having to trawl through lots of content searching for it (most won’t bother).
3. It doesn’t look professional or credible
As mentioned earlier, customers will make assumptions about your business based on the way your website looks and functions. A business with a website that looks dated or clunky is less likely to gain the trust of its visitors than a professionally designed one.
4. It’s confusing to navigate
There’s nothing more frustrating than going round and round in circles on a website unable to find the information you’re looking for.
Your website’s navigation should provide a clear and simple customer journey in as few clicks as possible so as not to lose customers along the way. The more clicks they need to make, the more likely you are to lose them.
5. There are no clear call-to-actions
Does the website for your small business make it clear what you want your visitors to do? It may sound like stating the obvious, but research shows that displaying clear call-to-actions like ‘call us now’ or ‘buy now’ throughout your website will help to spur visitors on to make that purchase or pick up the phone and dial your number.
With the right design, your website can help to attract new customers and be a real credit to your business, but a half-hearted attempt will hold your business back.
